Hi everyone. After envying the mirage kayaks for over a year now, me and my wife finally ordered each a 2011 kayak mirage sport. Being runners, kayakers and former small sailboat owners, this seemed to be everthing we want in one great package. We are in the Ft. Lauderdale, FL area. Pretty much year round use. My question is, how well does the Sport sail? We went with the Sport because they are lighter(for car topping solo) and easier to manuever( for narrow winding rivers and trails). Do you recommend AMA's and/or Turbo Fins.(We did order the sailing rudder) Thanks in advance! We ordered Fri. Sept 24 and were told delivery would be in about 3 weeks. The longest three weeks in my life .

_________________Kayaker: Are we there yet?Mirage Owner: Who cares? This is way too much fun!

I'm not sure how your Sport sails, but I can recommend the turbo fins, they're great. They'll allow you to take less strokes per mile, and give you great acceleration, with a bit more top end speed.

One thing to keep in mind, I'm hoping that by adding the sail, and the turbo fins, that you aren't expecting to go faster because of those upgrades.

The top speed of all of the Hobie Kayaks are not limited by fin design, or sail area, but instead by it's hull design. The hull gets to a point where, instead of cutting through the water, it pushes the water. At that point, doubling the forward thrust will only result in slight increases in speed.

I hope you enjoy the Sport for what it is, a great way to get out on the water and enjoy. I love sailing my Adventure Island at it's top speed, because it's fun, but at the end of the day, the top speed of my AI, is nothing compared to a Hobie 18.

It's like going top speed on a bicycle. That speed is fun on a bicycle, but if you do the same speed in a car, it's boring and slow.

So enjoy the Sport for what it is, a great and versatile boat. But don't expect great speeds even if you upgrade to the sail and turbo fins.

The turbo fins and sailing rudder are good additions - the turbos will create more lateral resistance to help you to sail better upwind than would bepossible with just the normal fins.

Not sure about the sidekicks - I have never used them though a lot of other people seem to. It might depend on the conditions you sail in and/or how fearful you are of the consequences of a capsize. Personally I have a Hobie AI and I much prefer sailing it as a kayak with the small sail over sailing it as a trimaran with the large sail. I have only been dunked three or four times in probably 5 years of sailing.

As the previous post made clear: don't expect to break the world sailing speed record but don't worry about this fact - being pushed along by the wind at the same speed as 'normal' paddlers is a good enough feeling, being that close to the water makes it feel faster than it is and, if you don't have the sidekicks (I don't sail with them) the ever present risk of a ducking on windier days increases the excitment and quickly hones your sailing skills. On light wind days I love ghosting along under full sail (main & jib - I added a jib) in my Hobie taking in the scenery, sipping a beer or trailing a line as I go

Thanks guys for the feedback. I was not inquiring about speed so much as stability and tacking ability. I notice that the same sail is used for the whole Mirage series and the Sport is the smallest and lightest model. I may have to go with the roller furling solution, or the larger fins, but hopefully not the more expensive solution, the AMA's

_________________Kayaker: Are we there yet?Mirage Owner: Who cares? This is way too much fun!

As far as stability goes, the Sport is actually two inches wider then the 16 foot Adventure model. So stability is a Sport strong suit. In single person, Hobie Kayaks, only the Outback is wider. (not including the Pro Angler which is an entirely different animal)

I'd consider the larger fins, just for the benefits that they offer. As far as tacking ability, the sport should turn the sharpest of all the Mirage boats, so I wouldn't see that being a difficulty. You mentioned that you ordered the sailing rudder, so you've got a nice package for manoeuvrability.

The nice thing about these boats, when you're sailing, is that if you have any trouble sailing, or tacking, you've always got the foot pedals. I sail my Adventure Island all the time with the pedals in, and I usually use the pedals to complete a tack, but also to get up to speed. Sometimes there is enough wind to maintain a good speed, but it takes a lot of time to reach that speed. By pedalling a few strokes to get up to speed, the sail can often keep you at a set speed.

It's really a trial and error thing, but if I were you I'd try sailing without the Ama's and see how it goes. Just make sure everything is tied down, or securely in the hatches just in case you capsize. I'm betting you'll be able to avoid a capsize in all but the fiercest wind.

I've used the sail with the Sport and enjoyed it a lot but ended up selling it because I mainly fish and it gets in the way. I used the (medium) ST fins, sailing rudder, and sidekick amas. I would have ended up in the water many times without the sidekick amas (winds were 10+ mph and I had no previous sailing experience). Since it can get very windy here I would never think about using the sail without them. Have fun!

I can't give you any experienced based advice on the Sport, but as a former small boat sailor like yourself I can tell you this. The Hobie Kayak design is such that it offers a great bubble on the side of the hull. When I purchased my Oasis I was thinking about getting the Sidekicks. The dealer asked me what kind of a small boat sailor I was. I told him "darn good with 30 years of experience." His response; "don't waste your money." I'm glad he said that. I'm not saying that you won't get thrown out of the boat occaisionally. But I will say this, the Hobie kayaks sail well with a 15 degree heel to leeward. Adjust your sail and helm to that and you'll really appreciate what these boats do under sail. That bubble design on the side of the hull likes to hold the boat at that angle. Besides that as all small boat sailors know if you don't get pitched into the drink once in a while you're not really sailing. Good Luck and have fun. It will be nice having you in the Hobie crowd. - Roger

Thanks for the responses guys. Sadly, we still haven't gotten delivery on our Sports and I am somewhat upset about this. I was told by my dealer that they make deliveries to Florida only when they get enough for a full truck, (third party company) which I understand. Apparently, we just missed the cutoff on one truck so we had to wait until the next truck filled up. My problem is there seems to be no communication or ability to track the shipment, which I find unacceptable in this day and age. After several e-mails to the dealer, I was told on Nov. 15. "the truck has left San Diego, I wont know more until it gets to Florida." Today after another e-mail inquiry I get this response; "My guess is that it is in florida? but I have not spoken to him. I have the driver cell line and will see if I can locate him. I do not have his schedule. But we need to know as we are closed on Monday and Thursday but open Friday after Thanksgiving." I have been waiting since Sept 27 for delivery and here we are two months later and I can't even get a definite answer on a delivery date. I'm sure we will enjoy our Sports if we ever get them. but this experience has definitely taken the shine off of it.

_________________Kayaker: Are we there yet?Mirage Owner: Who cares? This is way too much fun!

I just hate waiting for stuff that I really want. In this case I can guarantee the wait is worth it. Fill your time in by planning all the neat trips you're going to take. Get on Google Earth and use it to provide waypoints for your GPS. That way when it arrives all you have to do is offload it from the truck and hit the road for your first trip. We'll all be waiting to hear about it. Roger

Actually, we have an exciting trip planned to see the space shuttle launch(if all goes well)at night(4:03A.M.) on Nov. 30, from the water. Hopefully it will be in our new Sports! PS. I'm not complaining about the wait as much as the fact that I can't even get a confirmed delivery date. In this day and age that is to me unacceptable.

_________________Kayaker: Are we there yet?Mirage Owner: Who cares? This is way too much fun!

I am in your local area and belong to the local kayaking Meetup. South Florida Kayaking Meetup and All American Kayaking both do a lot of local events including night trips around the area (They do not call it the Venice of America for nothing). They also plan some overnight camping excursions as well.

My wife and I have the revolutions and I have the sail and Sidekick AMAS. I know you can sail without them but I choose to use them as a preventative measure against turtling. I have never turtled even without amas but came ohh so close a few times in a big gust. I choose not to capsize so I keep the amas on a high setting so that they hit the water only when heavily hiked over.I am trying to get my wife to sail but she does not seem that interested in that aspect of it. I will keep trying to convince her.

Turbo fins help a lot when sailing in that they make a nice daggerboard.

West Lake is a great area to sail and I hope to do Biscayne Bay sometime off Hobie Beach.

Congrats on your new purchase and you will get lots of use out of them and more fun than you can imagine.

Revo

_________________I would rather be kayaking and think about work than to be at work thinking about kayaking.
A Thrill Ride is being dragged around in your kayak for 40 minutes by an extremely large fish.